- The new Tesla Roadster has been nine years in the making
- Some customers placed reservations for the vehicle back in 2017
- Rumors suggest the EV could use gas thrusters to aid acceleration
After years of delays and multiple shuffled goalposts, it looks like the next-generation Tesla Roadster will finally make its first public outing.
The official Tesla website posted a teaser image over the weekend that shows what appears to be a taillight, a large spoiler or rear diffuser and some sort of quad-thruster deployment spraying gas into the atmosphere.
There’s also a countdown clock, with the official Tesla account on X stating “Go for launch,” accompanied by the date 10.01, or October 1.
It is all typically cryptic, but some <a href="https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tesla/roadster/101760/new-tesla-roadster-ready-launch-1-october-and-only-six-years-late” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>news outlets have flipped the image and said it looks more like an enormous rear spoiler with a light at the rear and thrusters beneath that, which would tally with Elon Musk’s claims that the sports car could use SpaceX-developed cold-gas thrusters as performance-enhancers.
Not a Tesla App is reporting that some key Tesla people, including online influencers, have started receiving their digital invitations, which suggest it will be held in Waco, Texas. Tesla has since confirmed the Waco location.
The Roadster is a hugely influential nameplate. After all, the all-electric model that was heavily based on a Lotus Elise was arguably the car — and proof of concept — that kick-started the journey for the EV company.
As a result, Tesla fans and investors rushed to place deposits on the next generation when the project was first announced back in November 2017.
Back then, it was said that it would offer 620 miles of range, a sub-two-second 0-60 mph sprint time and a 250-mph top speed Tesla still lists those figures on its Roadster website today
Alas, a release date for the “quickest car in the world” has been pushed back multiple times, with some early investors suggesting that they had backed out of the purchase because it was taking too long, including influential YouTuber Marques Brownlee — also known as MKBHD.
In order to keep excitement levels high over the years, company founder and CEO Elon Musk has dropped several tidbits, including the fact that the Roadster could use cold-gas thrusters developed by SpaceX to achieve massive levels of straight-line performance.
It was even hinted that the vehicle would be able to hover or fly, with Musk telling podcast host Joe Rogan that his friend and entrepreneur Peter Thiel wanted flying cars and that his vision should be realized.
This was also backed up by a post on X, where Elon Musk responded to a poster by saying, “You will get flying cars” in 2026.
Analysis: The crown prince of pantomime
Like the “We, Robot” event that Tesla hosted in 2024 for the launch of the company’s Cybercab concept, we can expect a healthy dose of theatrics when the Roadster finally makes its public debut.
At Warner Bros. Studios in California, a select number of Cybercabs gave their first public “rides” around a purpose-built film set, while Tesla’s Optimus robots made drinks and interacted with the crowds that attended.
But scratch the surface and reports suggested that those Optimus robots were, in fact, tele-operated by human beings behind the scenes.
It has also been reported that the environment in which the Cybercabs operated was carefully controlled and previously mapped to reduce any hiccups at the event.
Whatever the Roadster demonstrates next month, you can bet your bottom dollar that it won’t be street legal if it does involve cold-gas thrusters, leaving many fans waiting to see if the general public will ever be able to purchase a Tesla sports car again.
And herein lies the problem: Tesla hasn’t hosted a reveal event for anything that has developed into a meaningful passenger vehicle for years.
The Cybertruck has proven itself to be a monumental sales flop, and the company now only offers two models in its core passenger car lineup.
As great as the Model 3 and Model Y are, there’s just so much competition out there now that delivers more — more range, more practicality, more technology.
Rather than dropping the silk sheet on a flying sports car next month, the general public would likely get more excited about an all-new model they can actually buy, be it the long-rumored $25,000 hatchback or genuine replacements for the Model S and Model X.
But hey, that’s not the Tesla way.
